Stand Your Ground: Legend of the Monster
by Janet12
Summary: The Monster - an unknown creature exiled to a volcanic island. The heroine - a determined fairy, who wishes to keep her friends from danger. By now Vidia has learned to stand her ground, but she's still going on a quest to get her wings back. She'll need her friends when the mission turns into a desperate struggle to survive. Rated M for injury. Sequel to SYG: Firebird Tears.
1. Misty Refuge

**Disclaimer: Recognizable characters are not mine.**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 1**

**Misty Refuge**

**This is a _sequel_. It may be confusing if you have not first read 'Stand Your Ground' and 'Stand Your Ground: Firebird Tears.'**

It wasn't well known that there was an island right near Neverland. It's name was the Misty Refuge.

There had been a monster once – a creature like a snake whose name was long forgotten, but a fairy had discovered it's weak spot, and used that to force it into exile on Misty Refuge, a island covered with jungle and marshes. The serpent found an enormous cave and stayed there. Once in a while he would swim to Neverland and kill some creatures before returning to Misty Refuge. A brave Firebird ventured to the island and the neither creature returned to Neverland.

Vidia stepped out of her boat. Somehow she had managed to cross the ocean without a problem. She was standing on Misty Refuge.

She walked forward determinedly. It was starting to get dark, but she wanted to reach the edge of the marsh before she stopped.

She looked up at the tall trees around her. Everything was green, damp and dark. She suddenly realized that her glow made her a target for anything that hunted at night. She tried to put the thought out of her mind, but it stayed, making her nervous.

She heard something move beside her, but it was a large rodent scurrying away –

_Away from what? Me? _Vidia wondered, but suddenly she looked up in time to see a dark, furry creature jumping from a tree limb onto her.

"AH!" she shouted, jumping away.

The cougar landed, unshaken, on the ground and snapped at her. She jumped back and grabbed a strong stick. She used it to hit the cougar hard between the eyes, then stuck it in his mouth.

He spit it out, then reached for her with a paw.

"You stay away from me!" Vidia exclaimed, kicking the paw with all her might.

The large cat meowed in distress, and Vidia yelled in pain, having used her injured foot to kick him.

Suddenly she realized that he was in pain, too, and was temporarily distracted. She turned and ran into the underbrush, leaving him behind. She stopped, hiding under a large leaf that she was pretty sure would hide her glow.

She kept her head down and her wings folded until she didn't hear the cougar anymore.

Then she stood up and kept going. The trees cleared in only a few minutes and there was only beach and marsh.

She rummaged through her bag until she found a crumpled leaf blanket. She smoothed it out and pulled it over her.

She drifted quickly off to sleep.

Stand Your Ground

Vidia woke up first, as usual. "Wake up, Scruffy." she called. "We need to – oh."

she remembered that she was alone.

She sat up and put the blanket into her bag, and took out a piece of everfruit for breakfast. She finished quickly and stood, but was almost knocked over by a sudden wind near her. She turned, but for once it wasn't a hawk – it was an eagle.

"Hi!" she said, cheerfully. "What's up?" She was pretty sure that eagles didn't eat fairies.

The eagle started turning her head to examine her carefully.

"I don't like your manner." she said, loudly, then softly she added. "I wonder if she's eaten breakfast yet."

The eagle didn't waste time intimidating her and walking forward. She jumped into the air and reached down with her claws and grabbed Vidia by the shoulders.

"Ow! Ah!" Vidia yelled. "Let me go!" she tried to fight back, but the eagle didn't seem to hear her, or feel her punches.

She finally went limp, hoping the eagle wouldn't drop her. Suddenly she noticed an giant tree in front of her – but that didn't scare her. What did frighten her was the _enormous_ nest up near the top. The eagle swooped over it and dropped her – then flew away.

Vidia landed on a very comfy bed of feathers. She stood, but then the nest moved beneath her. _Was that the nest?_

She twisted around and found an eaglet staring at her with a large black eye. Then it snapped at her hand.

"Ah!" Vidia shrieked, jumping back, but she ran into the side of another baby bird, who flapped its wings, sending her flying across the nest. She shook her head, dazed, but then opened her eyes and saw a large, open beak coming toward her.

She jumped out of the way and allowed the eaglet to take a large mouthful of nest.

She reached over and pulled a few feathers out of one baby bird, then ducked out of sight, leaving the bird to attack another bird in rage.

She stomped on the bottom of the nest, making a small depression. She started moving needles and fuzz out of the way, burrowing out of the nest while the eaglets fought.

Vidia suddenly felt something cutting into the back of her shoulders. She turned and saw the first eaglet that she had landed on. He wasn't happy with her, and snapped at her with his big beak. She waited until he was close enough, but then stuffed a large pine needle down his throat.

"Good luck with that." she turned back to digging out. She suddenly poked a hole through to the other side and slid out onto the branch of the tree. She looked out at the branch, and suddenly realized that she was on the wrong side of the nest, which was between her and the trunk of the tree.

She climbed partway through her escape hole to watch the stampede of eaglet feet.

She smiled, noticing something, and pulled a knife from her bag.

"I think you need your nails clipped." she said, grabbing the foot of one baby and slicing off the end of the nail. It was very sharp and big enough for her whole hand to grip it comfortably.

She grabbed another chick's foot and took off one of it's claws.

She backed out onto the branch and took a deep breath. She plunged the claws into the side of the branch, then jumped off, holding onto her climbing hooks with all her might.

She climbed sideways, leaving a trail of holes in the branch, until finally she cleared the nest.

She stared down the trunk of the tree. She could hear the eaglets screaming furiously at one another, and sighed in contentment. She could hear the one that had attacked her, too, and knew he had gotten the pine needle out of his mouth.

She took one step toward the trunk, then suddenly slipped.

She fell.


	2. Back to the Marsh

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 2**

She reached out blindly as the wind whipped her hair into her face. The claw caught onto the side of a branch, and she found herself dangling far above the ground by one arm. Her bad foot throbbed at the movement, but she ignored it and reached up, stabbing the tree with her other claw. She climbed up, limped carefully out to the end of the branch and sat down. She stuck the eaglet claws into her belt.

She reached out and grabbed a few enormous leaves. She tore them into strips and tied them together to make herself a rope. She gauged the distance carefully, but there weren't any more leaves that she could reach easily from the branch. She tore her largest strip into two thin ones and put them on the end of her rope, hoping they'd hold.

She tied the rope firmly and started down. She noticed a few squirrels staring at her, but they didn't throw any nuts, or untie the rope, or eat her, for which she was grateful. She let her feet dangle beneath her and used her arms to lower herself.

She reached the end of her rope, but was still a few inches off the ground. She heard a tearing sound and she was lowered a little.

Then she was falling, holding only onto a small piece of leaf.

She hit the ground and lay still a moment, but then sat up and looked around.  
><em>No indians. Check. No weasels. Check. No foxes. Check.<em>

She climbed to her feet and turned to go back to the marsh and found herself nose to nose with a wolf.

She smiled. "Hi!" she said, then hit him.

He stepped away, startled at the aggression of his snack. Vidia seized the moment of inaction and darted between his legs and grabbed his tail. Feeling discomfort, the wolf whipped it back and forth, at first swinging Vidia off the ground to thump into his side, but then he sent her flying with a fistful of fur.

She rolled to a stop and sat up. A beaver was staring at her, curiously, but she could tell that he wasn't planning on eating her. She suddenly realized that he would be easy prey for a wolf.

"Wolf!" Vidia said, aloud. "There's a wolf coming!"

The beaver cocked his head, not understanding. Vidia tossed the wolf fur toward the beaver for it to smell, which he cautiously did.

She pointed from the direction she had soared. "There's a wolf over there." She said, clearly.

The beaver jerked his head toward his back.

"Are you offering to give me a ride?" Vidia asked, astonished.

The beaver nodded and pointed to the foot she was keeping her weight off of.

"Thanks. I won't forget this, Mister Beaver." She smiled, touched.

She took two big fistfuls of fur and he started away. It was not like riding Scruffy – it was a lot smoother, but she suddenly missed her furry steed and friend.

Suddenly the beaver stopped and waited for her to slip to the ground. As she hoped, he had taken her back to the marsh. He nodded politely, and so did she, then he took off for his home in the water.

Vidia sighed and looked up at the sun.

_Wow – that took a lot more time that it seemed like._ Vidia thought, surprised. _It's almost noon._

Vidia decided she might as well stop for lunch.

After she ate she stood at the side of the water, trying to gauge the best place to go. She went back to the edge of the jungle and sawed a large leaf off it's stem to use as a boat. She fastened the edges together at places to make it curved like a bowl. She tried to push the leaf into the water but it was stuck on something. She went knee deep into the water to try to pull it in, but suddenly noticed bubbles coming up near her. She moved away.

A snake head surfaced, but this snake's head was almost as big as she was.

"Vamoose." Vidia waved a hand, unfazed. "I've fought wolves and foxes and weasels and bats and fish and eagles and cougars and -" she paused, as the rest of his body started coming up to the surface and she started to realize just how _long_ he was. "- none of them were anywhere near your size."

She smiled at the snake. "Maybe I should just go my way . . ." the snake's forked tongue stuck out of it's mouth briefly.

"That might have been a no." Vidia told herself, aloud. "Oh, I am so glad you aren't here, Scruffy."

It opened it's mouth slightly and Vidia laughed, relieved. "You don't even have teeth. I just wasted a near panic-attack." She turned and started to walk away, but found herself encircled by a thick length of snake.

"This is _not_ good." Vidia fought to free her hands, but couldn't the snake suddenly started to squeeze her, and she realized how this sort of snake killed their prey.

_Death by squeezing._ She thought, _Could be worse._

Suddenly she was brought back to her senses and she felt something poking into her side.

She shifted her hand just a bit and winced as the snake squeezed a little more. Then she stabbed it with an eaglet claw.

The snake hissed angrily but loosened his grip a little.

Vidia pushed herself free, and dived off of the snake's spotted back into the water. She started to swim back to the surface, but suddenly something was overtop of her. The snake was blocking her from the surface. She concentrated on holding her breath as she thought of a way to get him.  
>The snake's tail was suddenly wrapped around her middle – not squeezing hard, but just waiting – <em>For me to drown.<em> She realized.

She grabbed the other eaglet claw and stabbed the snake several times. The tail moved and she resurfaced.

"Get away from me!" she shouted, splashing frantically back onto the shore.

The snake stared a her, then all of it except for the eyes disappeared back underwater.

Vidia hurled her eaglet claw at it, and it seemed to go away.

Vidia turned around, her back to the marsh.

"Well -" she panted. "That was – very -"

She fell on her face in the sand.


	3. Rescue

**Disclaimer in Chapter 1**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 3**

**Rescue**

Vidia blinked. She couldn't see anything but varying shades of yellow blobs. Suddenly she realized that what she was seeing was close up sand. She rolled onto her back and sat up.

"Did I faint?" she asked herself, incredulously.

_Not the first time._ She imagined Scruffy interjecting.

"Oh, shut up." she grinned, then she stood.

"Time to get going." she looked up. "Or maybe not. Too dark." It was already past time for dinner and was actually bedtime.

Vidia reached into her bag and pulled out her leaf blanket, but found she wasn't tired.

She heard something scuffling in the bushes. "Scruffy?" her first thought popped onto her lips.

A pointy snout appeared, and then the head of the creature.

"Are you a robber or something?" Vidia grinned. "Wearing a mask like that?"

The Raccoon stepped out of the bush.

"I'm sorry, but I need to get to bed. Beat it." Vidia had always figured raccoons to be pretty tame animals."

She noticed his long fingers were home to very sharp claws, and suddenly found herself wondering if he was a carnivore.

"You're looking for breakfast, aren't you?" Vidia asked. "You're nocturnal and just woke up."

The raccoon lowered himself slightly.

"That doesn't look friendly."

As before, the raccoon didn't respond.

Vidia noticed his leg muscles tensing, and realized he was going to spring.

She ran.

Her feet sounded a fast beat as she ran into the jungle.

She halted for a breath at the edge of a clearing, and was about to dash off again but she recognized the clearing as the one she'd met the beaver in. She wondered if the scent of an enemy would scare him away, and she stopped just where the beaver had been.

The raccoon stopped.

"Raccoons are afraid of beavers?" Vidia shook her head. "Little wimp." She then noticed the pile of wolf fur. "Okay, maybe not so wimpy." she stepped forward and picked up the fur. She threw a thick piece at the raccoon like a spear, and he jumped away as if it were poison. After a few moments, he slunk away.

As Vidia was already in the jungle she picked up a few sticks the right height and made them into crutches.

She limped to the beach and set up camp.

When she was sure everything was quiet she pretended to sleep, but it was a long time before she actually did.

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia woke suddenly. "Scruffy!" she shouted. "We have to – oh. No Scruffy." She sat up and suddenly noticed the large Heron poised above her.

"I'm really not a good breakfast." she tried to warn him. "I'll give you a stomachache you'll remember for your whole life."

The Heron plunged his beak toward her.

She shrieked and rolled out of the way, and, staring at it, she climbed cautiously to her feet.

"Stay away from me!" she snatched up one of the crutches that she'd made the day before. She held it up, threateningly.

"Vidia, run!"

She didn't. Rather, she froze, turning slowly to stare at the fairies flying toward her. Iridessa was digging frantically through her bag.

"Tinkerbell?" she said, surprised, but unmoving.

The Heron's beak descended, and Vidia looked up. She found herself glued to the spot as it descended, getting closer and closer to her face. She knew the other fairies weren't close enough to her.

_I won't be a burden anymore._ She thought, cheerfully, unable to look away from her inevitable death.

Then the beak turned yellow. Sparkling yellow. It stopped descending and moved upward, taking the heron with it. Vidia stared for a moment, then turned toward the fairies and saw that Iridessa had thrown dust at it. Tinkerbell landed next to her.

"Are you all right?" she asked, anxiously.

"What did you think you were doing?" Fawn put her hands on her hips.

"Going off without us!" Rosetta scolded.

"You think we would let you do that?" Silvermist frowned.

"That wasn't very smart." Scruffy agreed.

"Good to see you, Vidia." Iridessa said, putting the leaf half-full of pixie dust back into her bag.

Everyone paused and looked at her.

"We're trying to make sure she doesn't do this again, Sugah, and you ain't helping." Rosetta said, pointedly.

"Oh."

Vidia glanced up at the heron who was unhappily floating into the clouds like an angel. She waved, mockingly.

She turned back to her friends, who were watching her, worried.  
>She was silent for a moment. She knew she was dirty and had slashes in the back of her outfit. She wiggled her toes covertly to make sure that she still had her shoes on.<p>

"How did you find me?" she asked, suddenly.

"Well, that's really Scruffy's story." Tinkerbell turned to him."

"You spied on me?" Vidia asked, disgusted. "After that whole crying scene?"

"No!" Scruffy denied, "I went for a walk. You left your house and I hid behind a bush because I thought you'd think I was spying on you . . ."

**What Happened Before**

Fawn woke from a sound sleep because something was hammering loudly on her door.

"Fawn! Fawn! Fawn! Fawn! Wake up! Wake up!" It seemed to be Scruffy's voice. "Please wake up! It's Vidia! She's -" Fawn opened the door.

"What?" Fawn asked, sleepily, but kindly.

"Vidia – she's leaving."  
>"Leaving where?" Fawn asked.<p>

"The Sugar Plum Tree. I mean – the Sour Peach Tree – Uh – uh – uh – Pixie Hollow." Scruffy said, panicked.

"What?"

"I think she's going to try for some more Firebird Tears." Scruffy admitted. "I'm not sure, but she shouldn't leave alone."

"Not in her condition." Fawn agreed. "I'll get Tink and Rosetta. You find Dessa and Sil. We'll meet at the Sour Plum Tree."

"Right – meet at the -" Scruffy paused.

"Vidia's house."

"Vidia's house." Scruffy scampered away.

**Stand Your Ground**

"Look – there's a note on her bed!" Rosetta picked it up. "Scruffy and everyone else: I'm fine. I need a few days alone. Do not follow. Vidia."

"She must be going somewhere dangerous." Scruffy said, worried. "She'll get into trouble."

"But she asked us not to follow her." Silvermist pointed out.

"Of course she did!" Tinkerbell shrugged. "That's the way Vidia is."

"So let's get crackin'!" Rosetta exclaimed. "She wouldn't let one of us go on our own!"  
>"And we won't, either!" Fawn nodded.<p>

"Right – everyone pack and meet back here. I'll see if I can get some extra pixie dust." Tinkerbell said.

"She's had too long of a headstart." Scruffy said. "We're going to lose her."

"We'll catch up." Silvermist assured him. "She can't get too far."

**Back to Present**

"But you did get too far." Scruffy finished. "You got so far it took us all this time just to track you down. We found your tracks by the marsh once, but then it seemed like you'd just vanished off the face of the island."

Vidia was silent.

"We'll have to rest up for a while, Vidia." Tinkerbell said, apologetically. "We've been looking for you since dawn."

"That's fine. I understand." Vidia nodded.

They set up a camp and the fairies all sat down.

Vidia noticed Scruffy out on a sandbar extended into the water. She walked out to join him.

"Keep a sharp lookout for Herons. And eagles." Vidia said, awkwardly.

Silence.

"Are you unhappy that we found you?" Scruffy asked.

Vidia thought for a moment. "Since I left I've been attacked by a raccoon, an eagle, fought off an army of eaglets, a cougar, a wolf, a snake – met a beaver – and you all just saved me from a Heron. If I wasn't afraid for you, I would never have left alone." Vidia put her arm around his furry shoulders. "I'm glad you found me."

The ground jerked beneath them, knocking Vidia to the ground. Suddenly she realized that it wasn't sand.

Scruffy was shifting his feet, trying to keep his balance as it moved again.

"What's the matter? Earthquake?" he asked

"It isn't a sandbar!" Vidia shouted. "It's an alligator!"

**I apologize for not updating regularly. I really don't have much excuse - besides Christmas, Algebra 2, Chemistry, Constitutional history, English course, a paper every Friday, learning German . . .**

**I take that back. I have a couple of pretty good excuses.**

**Thank you to all those kind enough to review. I can't describe how excited I am when I see there's a new one, and I'm really encouraged by what you have to say. **


	4. Predators of the Water

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 4**

**Predators of the Water**

"Alligator?" Scruffy squeaked, horrified. "Help! Tink! FAWN! Help! Help!"

Vidia joined in, shouting and yelling for the fairies.

Fawn was streaking toward the head of the alligator, intending to talk to him – not that Vidia thought he would listen.

Rosetta sped toward Scruffy and Vidia, ready to rescue them.

"No! Rosetta, look out!" Vidia shouted, but the alligator lifted his tail from the water and struck Rosetta, who soared backward through the air and landed on the sand, dazed.

Tink and Iridessa seemed to be constructing some sort of anti-alligator weapon, but Vidia didn't want to wait. The alligator lunged toward Fawn, who only just managed to jump out of the way.  
>"Come on, Scruffy!" Vidia shouted. "Jump!"<p>

"We don't know what's in there!" Scruffy protested.

"Dirty water, or down his throat. Take your pick!"

"Three, two one -" Scruffy chose water.

They both jumped into the water.

Vidia surfaced, but a wave splashed over her head, getting water into her mouth. "Scruffy?" she called, looking around, but she didn't see him. "Scruffy!"

"Right here, Vidia." Scruffy replied, and she twisted around in the water to see him paddling effortlessly.

"Get to the beach – the alligator might see us." Vidia warned.

Scruffy stared at her. "Vidia . . ."

"What?" Vidia suddenly realized that a shadow had fallen over her – as if there was something behind her . . . she turned around "AHH!" she screamed.

The eyes of an enormous snapping turtle were examining their lunch.

Vidia was frozen for a moment, but suddenly water was pouring over her head and she couldn't see or breathe. Just as suddenly she was lying on the sand coughing. She rolled over and her hand landed on Scruffy. She opened her eyes and Silvermist was kneeling next to them.

"Are you guys okay?" she asked,

"Fine – fine. Is Fawn?" Vidia asked, breathlessly. "Rosetta?"

"I don't think Fawn's hurt, but I haven't seen Rosetta. I'd better go check."

Silvermist zipped away through the air and Scruffy bounded ahead. Vidia made a small wind to dry herself off – she was very cold, but it was better than being wet for ages. She sprinted to join the others, who were grouped around Rosetta.

"Is she okay?" Vidia asked, panting.

Tinkerbell turned. "Just stunned."

"I'm fine." Rosetta was sitting up. "So where are we off to next?"

Everyone looked at Vidia.

She pulled off her backpack and forced out a large book.

"What's that?" Iridessa squinted to see.

"The Legend of the Monster, and the Firebird that Never Returned." Vidia told her.

"Wait – what?" Iridessa exclaimed.

"There was a monster once." Vidia began. "It was enormous. No one remembers what kind of monster he was, but a long time ago, it lived on Neverland and ate fairies. One fairy found out how to defeat it, and used this weapon to drive it off Neverland and onto Misty Refuge. But that fairy died of disbelief without telling anyone how to keep the monster away. When the monster found out that the fairy was dead, he came back once a year and took fairies and animals to eat -"

Fawn shuddered.

"That was when the fairies found a Firebird. This Firebird was very wise, and he figured out the secret of the monster. He went to Misty Refuge to imprison or kill the monster, but he has never returned. Neither has the monster. I intend to find out if the Firebird is alive. If he is, I'll try to get one of his tears, and have my wings back."

"But what if he's dead and the monster is alive, waiting to eat any foolish fairies who go looking for a Firebird?" Rosetta pointed out.

"The firebird left some clues for us to figure out what the monster's weakness is."

"What are they?" Tinkerbell asked.

"Well, apparently he was best friends with an animal fairy, and he told her that 'the myth of the monster is a lie'."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Silvermist asked, turning to Fawn, who shrugged.

"Anything else?" Tinkerbell asked.

"The firebird also was quoted as saying 'from a trickle to a roar'." Vidia answered.

"That means fairy dust." Scruffy said, proudly. "Zarina says that a lot."

"That saying is actually recent. No one said that back then." Iridessa corrected. "He might have been saying the same thing, or it might mean something else completely."

"Maybe the monster is allergic to Pixie Dust!" Silvermist suggested, excitedly.

Everyone paused. "Sorry, Sil, but I don't think so." Rosetta smiled, encouragingly.

"What was the Firebird's name?" Fawn spoke.

"Doiteain." Vidia replied. "He was a good friend of the fairies."

"When do we leave?" Fawn asked.

"Right away." Tinkerbell decided. "Dessa, give Scruffy some Pixie dust. Vidia – where are we going?"

"Across the marsh – look for a river and a mountain." Vidia replied.

"Sil, fly up a bit and look for a river and a mountain." Tinkerbell instructed.

Sil obeyed, shooting into the air.

"I'm all covered in fairy dust." Scruffy announced, padding over to where Tink and Vidia stood.

"Do you hear that?" Vidia said, her eyes narrowing.

"No – not the alligator!" Scruffy turned, looking at the beach, but the water was still and there were no enemies in sight.

"No, it isn't like that . . ." Vidia turned in a circle, surveying the area, then she looked up. "Sil!" she screamed. "Look out!"


	5. Boiling River

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster'**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 5**

**Boiling River**

Silvermist was warned just in time to turn around midair and duck from an attack. The dragonfly just missed her, then turned and chased her through the air.

In a heartbeat all the other fairies were in the air distracting the dragonfly.

Tinkerbell let him chase her in circles until he had to stop because he was dizzy. He blinked his eyes a few times, then saw the fairies were regrouped, planning his demise, just a little way away.

Scruffy waited on the beach to keep Vidia safe. When he saw all the other fairies safe, he turned, but Vidia was no longer beside him.

"Vidia?" he called, turning around, worried. Then he heard her shout.

"HEY! Over here! I'm wingless! I can't fly! Come get me!" Vidia was far down the beach, waving her arms, yelling at the dragonfly. "Easy lunch! Come on!"

The dragonfly took a glance at the other fairies, who were staring at Vidia, thunderstruck, then he took off toward her.

Scruffy started bounding across the ground, but he knew he wouldn't reach her in time. Vidia had left her backpack on the ground, so she didn't have any tools.

Just as the dragonfly got close, she reached down and grabbed a stick she had left lying in the sand.

At the last moment Vidia used the stick as a club and deflected the dragonfly, making him fly, stunned, into the sand. She stepped toward him.

"Pick on someone your own altitude!" she shouted, brandishing her stick threateningly. "Now scram."

It scrammed.

"Are you okay?" Scruffy slipped to a stop next her.

"Nice job, Vidia!" Tinkerbell said, landing next to her.

**Stand Your Ground**

"Wow!" Tink landed, and the others followed.

Vidia slipped off of Scruffy's back and pulled the book from her backpack.

"It says on the map here that we should be standing beside the 'Cold River'."

"More like boiling river." Rosetta pointed out. "You can see the steam for miles."

"I wonder what happened." Silvermist said,

"I wonder if the person who wrote that book has even been on this island." Fawn spoke up. "They've it all wrong."

Vidia stared at the boiling water. _I'll bet this has something to do with the Firebird._ She thought.

"Look!" Tinkerbell's voice startled her from her thoughts. "I can see a cave just beyond the river. Let's hop over and see if it's the right one!"

"Be careful about the steam." Silvermist warned. "It'll soak your wings almost as fast as water."

Vidia climbed up onto Scruffy's back again, and he bounced right through the steam, taking no notice of Silvermist's warning. Vidia shut her eyes as they went right into the steam and opened them again when they landed safely on the other side.

The other fairies flew far into the air, darted through the steam where it thinned, and floated back down.

Vidia consulted her map. "Yep – this looks like the cave."

"Let's keep going for an hour or so. Then we'll camp and have something to eat." Tinkerbell proposed.

"Sounds good to me." Scruffy agreed.

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia stared into the fire. "Did the Firebird take anything with him? A knife? Sword? Pixie dust?"

"Well, there was a famous robbery a day after the Firebird left." Fawn admitted. "Everyone tried not to suspect the Firebird because he was such a good friend and might have died to save us, but it's possible that he took it."

"So what can you use fairy dust for?" Scruffy asked. "It helps you with your talents, and it lets you fly . . . anything else?"

"Nothing comes to mind." Rosetta responded.

"He's allergic to pixie dust." Silvermist suggested again.

Vidia paused. "Maybe we should consider that. I mean, we don't know what his weakness is, and the Firebird did take pixie dust."

"Might have taken pixie dust." Iridessa corrected.

"It's more to go on than we had." Vidia concluded.

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia woke with a gasp. She looked around, but no one else was up.k It had taken her so long to get to sleep – she was quite tired, though. She heard it again, the sound that had woken her.

Looking down the tunnel, she could see a faint light. Curiously,k she stood and started toward it.

After a while she rounded the curve in the tunnel that had not permitted her to see what was down here, but she could see it then. Enormous, shiny, and magnificient. For a moment she thought it was a dragon, but no – it was – a -

_I can't remember the word._ Vidia thought, frustrated.

The monster turned and went back the way it had come. She stayed still for a moment, then sprinted back toward the camp.

"Scruffy!" she screamed. "Scruffy!"

The other fairies were awake in an instant. Tinkerbell saw that Vidia's blanket was empty. "Vidia?"  
>Scruffy looked around. "Vidia – where are you?"<p>

"Scruffy!" Vidia jumped up onto a rock and came into sight of the camp.

"Are you okay?" Silvermist called,

"What happened?" Iridessa asked.

Vidia slid to a stop next to the rat. "Scruffy – remember before? When we hadn't gotten to pixie hollow -" she paused to catch her breath.

"On the way back from the bat-cave?" Scruffy remembered.

"No – no, before then. When we were on our way _to _Pixie Hollow from the pirate ship – you built a fire to attract the attention of the fairies – I asked you what would come to fires besides fairies."

"Pirates? There's pirates in here? Indians!?" Scruffy squeaked.

"No, no! That's what I told you. What was it that you said?"

"Moths?" Scruffy said, disgustedly. "You're afraid of _moths_?"

"No! The other – Sallysomething."

"The monster is a Salamander?" Scruffy said, horrified.


	6. Salamander

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 6**

**Salamander**

"_The monster is a Salamander?" Scruffy said, horrified._

"I don't understand." Tinkerbell broke in.

"Fawn, what's a Salamander?" Rosetta asked.

"A legendary lizard that breathes fire." Vidia recalled.

"No, a mythical serpent that is fireproof – there's a difference." Fawn corrected.

"He and Fira could be friends." Iridessa pointed out. "Too bad we didn't bring her."

"You saw him?" Silvermist asked,

"He was wandering around the tunnel – I think he smelled the fire." Vidia replied. "We'd better put it out for now."

Silvermist obediently doused the fire with water.

"Well, what do we do now?" Rosetta asked.

"Wait 'til morning – then we'll go find the Salamander." Tinkerbell decided. "Let's get some sleep."

**Stand Your Ground – 13th Day**

They walked until it was noon – or they guessed it was noon. Anyway, they had lunch and continued on. Finally, the tunnel stopped, with one large arch to their right.

"Stay back – I'll take a peek." Vidia warned and peeked around the edge.

She froze.

"Vidia – do you see anything?" Tinkerbell asked, impatient.

She pulled her head back and looked at Tinkerbell. "The Salamander's sitting at the other end of the cavern – he's watching this entrance. He's expecting us."

"Any Firebirds around?" Rosetta asked.

"I didn't see anything else in the cavern." Vidia replied.

"No Firebird – can we run?" Scruffy inquired, hopefully.

"Not on your life." Tinkerbell spoke up. "We're getting a firebird tear if it's the last thing we do."

"It is on my life, and it probably will be the last thing we do." Scruffy muttered.

"So what's the plan?" Silvermist asked Tink and Vidia.

Silence.

"No plan?" she said, worried.

"No, but we'd better not keep the Salamander waiting." Vidia stepped out into the archway. "Hi."

"I have been waiting for you fairies." the Salamander was enormous – Vidia was certain that she wasn't even as big as one of his feet. "Who are you?" he seemed very calm about the whole thing.

"I'm Vidia." Vidia kept her voice steady and tried to slow her racing heartbeat.

"I am Kemalth, the Salamander. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking for a Firebird. Doiteain came to visit you a few centuries ago."

"Why don't you say 'we' and have done. I saw you and the other fairies last night. And the rodent."

"Scruffy's a rat." Vidia contradicted, unthinkingly.

"And right here." Scruffy stepped out next to Vidia.

The other fairies stepped out into the open.

"Answer the question, Kemalth." Tinkerbell said, sternly. "Where's the Firebird? What happened to Doiteain?"

"He told me to stop attacking the fairies. I killed him in self-defense."

"Self defense?" Fawn exclaimed, outraged. "A Firebird would be so many times smaller than you that it's ridiculous! He couldn't hurt you!"

"It happened centuries ago. I had a short temper back then. I was more impatient."  
>"What made you so patient that you wait for fairies to find you instead of coming back to Neverland?" Silvermist asked, curiously.<p>

"I've simply gotten older and wiser." Kemalth frowned. "Why are you looking for the Firebird."

"Firebird tears can heal injuries." Scruffy told him.

"Really?" Kemalth said, sarcastically. "I had no idea!"

"How did you know?" Vidia said.

"It's common knowledge. Besides, I take one whenever I injure myself. Ironically, they've saved my life several times. I'm sure the Firebird never wanted to save me by coming here."

"You have Firebird tears?" Rosetta exclaimed, her face brightening.

"Yes. I took them from the Firebird -"

"Doiteain." Fawn interjected.

"Before I killed him."

"You monster!" Fawn growled, stepping forward.

"Fawn, he has the Firebird tears – don't make him mad!" Iridessa reminded her quietly, pulling her back.

"I'm sure that we could make some kind of trade. We must have something that you want." Tinkerbell called.

"A fairy to eat?" he asked, hopefully.

"That's me!" Rosetta stepped forward. She turned and spoke over her shoulder from one corner of her mouth. "If he doesn't chew properly I'll give him indigestion for years."

"Uh-uh, Ro." Silvermist pulled her back. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"No go, salamander." Vidia replied, stepping forward. "Anything else you'd like?"

"Fifteen bags of pixie dust." he requested, promptly.

"And you'll just – give us the tears?"

"One tear. One." Kemalth cautioned. "It should be sufficient for curing one fairy – or their wings. But I will not be held responsible if it doesn't work."

"Why not?"

"It's a pretty old tear. You can't expect for it to be in tip-top shape. And anyway, it only works until your fifteen days are up."

"Well, my fifteen days aren't up." Vidia turned back to the others. "I don't trust him."

"Do we even _have_ fifteen bags of fairy dust?"

"Well, we don't have any other choice." Tinkerbell stepped forward. "We can give you five bags of dust now, and ten more on a return trip."

"Twelve more."

"You said you wanted fifteen. That's faulty math." Iridessa pointed out.

"If they're going to be late I want two more."

"All right." Tinkerbell agreed. "Twelve later. I'll get you the five."

Iridessa rummaged in her bag.

"Why does he want Pixie dust?" Fawn asked.

"Maybe because he's allergic to it. He doesn't want us to have any to use on him if it comes to a fight." Silvermist suggested.

"Or because he wants us to be unable to fly." Tinkerbell pointed out. "We'd be pretty useless on the ground."

"Except for Vidia." Rosetta hastily pointed out. "She's brilliant on the ground."

"Thanks, Ro." Vidia took the bags that Iridessa handed her.

"I've got your Pixie Dust here." Vidia set them down. "You go get the tears. You don't get the dust until I see them."

"One moment." The salamander slithered away down the tunnel.

"I still don't trust him." Vidia said to Scruffy in a low voice.

"Don't worry – what's the worst case scenario?"

"All of us dead."  
>"Still, don't worry. The rest of us are fairy-dusted already. If you need our help, we'll be ready." Scruffy grinned. "When have I let you down?"<p>

Vidia cocked her head, thinking.

"Rhetorical question." Scruffy hurried to explain. "Don't answer that."

"Will Queen Clarion let us have the pixie dust for a fairy-eating monster?" Vidia suddenly asked.

"We would get it for you, Vidia." Tinkerbell put a hand on her shoulder. "You aren't alone."

Vidia snorted, feigning amusement, but inside she was quite touched.

Kemalth came back into the cavern and stopped at the other end.

He then came over to where they were. "Here's the vial with the tears." he handed it gently to Silvermist, who took it carefully. "Give me the bags of pixie dust."

"Here." Tinkerbell placed them on his paw.

Kemalth backed away to the other end of the room, examining his pixie dust.

"How much dust do we have left?" Silvermist asked, worried.

"One bag. It isn't much, but we'll make due." Iridessa assured her.

"Vidia, drink the tear!" Scruffy said, excited.

Vidia fumbled with the stopper of the vial and glanced hesitantly at Tinkerbell.

"Don't worry. Just drink it." Rosetta encouraged her.

"One – only one tear!" Kemalth cautioned, anxiously. "If you drink any more I'll want more pixie dust."

Vidia opened the vial. _How do I tell how much is a tear? _Vidia wondered. She drank one swallow, then corked the vial again.

Everyone was perfectly silent just for a moment.

Vidia's heart pounded loudly. "Are my wings back yet?" she asked, unable to stand the silence.

"No, Vidia." Silvermist responded. "Nothing happened."

Vidia put her hand over her shoulder, just checking for wings, but Silvermist was right.

She turned slowly to face the salamander.

"Are you sure that your 15 days aren't up?" he asked, smoothly.

"She has two days left." Tinkerbell said, clearly. "You cheated us."

"That tasted just like water." Vidia told him.

"Very strange that you say it tastes like water." the Kemalth said, thoughtfully.

"Is it not supposed to taste like that?" Vidia asked, worried.

"I don't know. I've never had any."

"You said you'd had a Firebird tear whenever you got wounded." Vidia reminded him.

"Firebird tears, yes, but that vial was poison. You will be dead within 12 hours."


	7. Poison

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 7**

**Poison**

"_That vial was poison. You'll be dead within 12 hours."_

"No!" Tinkerbell cried.

"Poison!" Silvermist exclaimed.

"He's lying!" Vidia growled. "He's trying to distract us -" before she could finish the world went fuzzy before her. The floor tilted and she ended on her face on the floor, her heart pounding painfully hard.

"Vidia!" Vidia could hear Scruffy calling her.

"Perhaps you'll be convinced of the poison when blindness sets in. It's the next symptom."  
>Kemalth snagged the pixie dust with a claw and started to leave. "Forget about the Firebird tears. There aren't any left." The salamander left.<p>

"Vidia, are you okay?" Tinkerbell knelt next to her.

"I'm fine! I just – lost my balance!" Vidia pushed away Tinkerbell's helping hand, then climbed to her feet. "Nothing's wrong with – with-" She didn't finish her sentence, instead stumbling into Rosetta.

"What's wrong, honey?" Rosetta asked, catching her arm and holding her steady.

"I can't see!" Vidia blinked several times. "I can't see anything!"

"Sil, Ro, stay with Vidia!" Tinkerbell instructed. "The rest of you, let's go after the salamander! He must know the cure for this poison!"

Scruffy bounded into the air after the fairies. "Fawn, slow down a little!" he called. "Don't leave me behind!"

Fawn went back and pulled him until he was going fast enough to keep up.

"I don't see him." Iridessa looked around.

"I don't see anything." Scruffy complained.

"Dessa, can you make a light so we can see around?" Tinkerbell requested.

"Coming right up!" Iridessa snapped her fingers and a light burst from them.

"Right, now we can see -" Tinkerbell stopped.

"Oh, great." Scruffy said, halfheartedly.

"AHHH!" all of them screamed.

The Salamander was looming over them, but that wasn't the worst part. No one had time to move before the barrel crashed down over their heads, trapping them. He slapped the lid on.

"A hole – Fawn, can you get out?" Tinkerbell saw the hole in the barrel, but just as Fawn flew to it, a small rock was jammed into it, leaving no way of escape, not a crack, not a hole. They were trapped.

**Stand Your Ground**

"Did you hear something?" Silvermist whispered.

"Of course I did – I'm not deaf!" Rosetta hissed back, glancing at Vidia.

"What's going on?" Vidia demanded. "Do you see anything?"

"Of course not, Sugar!" Rosetta exclaimed, soothingly. "Nothing's happening."

"I'm not deaf! I'm only blind!" Vidia was sitting with her eyes open sightlessly, her back against a large stone. "Those were our friends shouting. Now either you two are going to find out what happened to them, or I'm going after them blindly. Look, I'm perfectly safe here. Just fly over and check on them, and then fly back. It's that simple."

"If you're sure you're all right . . ?" Rosetta said, doubtfully.  
>"Sil, Ro, just go. I'll be fine."<p>

"All right." Sil agreed. "Let's go."

Rosetta and Silvermist flew out of the cavern. "We'll be right back!" Rosetta's voice echoed back to Vidia.

Kemalth grinned. "And why wouldn't you be?" he murmured to himself.

Rosetta and Silvermist flew around the corner, ready to rescue their friends. Suddenly they were tumbling around a barrel with their other friends.

Then the motion stopped, as the barrel was set down on the ground.

"Tink! Are you all okay? Scruffy?" Rosetta asked, brushing herself off.  
>"We're fine!" Fawn answered.<p>

"Where's Vidia?" Iridessa asked, anxiously.

"She's in the cavern, alone." Silvermist admitted. "She told us that if we didn't find out what happened to you that she'd come looking on her own. You know how hard it is to stop Vidia when she's made up her mind."

"She's not safe!" Scruffy exclaimed. "We have to find a way out!"

"He's right. Dessa, Fawn, give me a hand with this rock. We need to find a way to push it out!"

"Okay!"

The three fairies tried to push it out. Rosetta and Silvermist joined them.

"I'd help, but I think I'd be in the way." Scruffy called up from the bottom of the barrel.

"Stay there, Scruffy!" Tinkerbell called. "We need your weigh to keep the barrel from – rising – that's it!" she exclaimed, abandoning her attempts to push out the rock.

"What's it?" Rosetta asked, curiously.  
>"There isn't a single crack in this barrel, right?"<p>

"Uh-huh." Fawn nodded. "What about it?"

"It's pretty dark in the cave except for our glow, and if the salamander can't see our glow, and if we stay _really_ quiet, then we could move the barrel into a different part of the tunnel and he wouldn't be able to find it! Then we can figure out a way to get out without him eating us first!"

"That doesn't help Vidia!" Scruffy pointed out.

"We can't help Vidia if we're dinner." Silvermist pointed out.

"We _will_ get out, Scruffy." Fawn said, encouragingly.

"Ready? No talking after this, remember – just whisper really softly." Tinkerbell warned. "One, two, three, go!"

They all flew to the top of the barrel and lifted it into the air. Tinkerbell pointed in a direction and they flew it that way until they ran into a wall, and continued along that wall until they found another one. Satisfied that they had found a corner, Tinkerbell gestured for them to set it down. It took a few tries to find a suitable landing spot, but they made it.

"Dessa," Tinkerbell whispered. "Can you use your light to whittle away the wood and get the stone out?"

"I can try." Iridessa offered. "I'm not sure – I've never tried before."

"Get to it." Tinkerbell smiled encouragingly.

She sat down on the bottom of the barrel with the others. "There isn't much we can do except wait." she said, unhappily.

"Poor Vidia. I wonder what's happening to her." Scruffy worried.

"She'll be fine, Scruffy." Rosetta comforted him. "She brilliant on the ground."

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia felt very guilty for pushing them to leave her. "Sil? Ro?" she called, hesitantly, climbing to her feet. "Are you okay?" her voice got louder.

She remembered which way she had been when she fell, but after that she wasn't certain. Then she recalled which direction the shouts of her friends came from. That gave her direction and determination.

She turned and started walking, holding her hands tentatively out in front of her.

She heard a slight noise, as if something had fallen, or been set down, further along the tunnel.

"Hello? Rosetta? Sil?" she called. "Tinkerbell?" She spun in a circle slowly, listening. "Anyone?"


	8. Firebird Tears

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 8**

**Firebird Tears**

She set off, going toward the sound she had heard.

"Can't we answer her?" Scruffy asked. "She can't see anything – she'll probably think we're dead, and eaten."

"If we respond we _will _be dead and eaten very soon." Iridessa pointed out. "We need to stay quiet."

"But the salamander isn't around here, he-"

"Did you hear that?" Silvermist asked.

"Vidia? Of course!" Scruffy whispered.

"No, it sounded like a snake – like the salamander. I think he's hiding. I think he's discovered that we're gone and hoping that we'll give ourselves away to Vidia." Silvermist said. "He's smart. He won't hurt her as long as she's our only reason to call out."

"Sil? Scruffy?" they could hear her calling desperately. "Please answer!"

"He could have captured her!" Scruffy argued. "He might be making her call for us!"

"It wouldn't change the situation a bit!" Silvermist said. "I'm sorry, but Tink and Dessa are right. We have to stay quiet to help her."

"Kemalth? Anyone, please!" Vidia just continued walking forward. "Scruffy!"

She heard a slight sound – like scales over rock, and knew the salamander was close by. Blindly she turned and ran.  
>"Ah!" she yelled as she tripped over a rock and went flying.<p>

She climbed blindly to her feet and started toward where she remembered the cavern opening was.

After she managed to get into the cavern, she crossed the length and went back out into the tunnel they had entered in.

Listening carefully, she could hear outside noises – it sounded as if it was late. Perhaps even night. Not that she could tell, blinded.

"I could go out." she said aloud. "I could go out – and get killed by an eagle or heron or snake. Or I could stay here and see if I can find my friends – if they're alive – until the poison kills me." She paused, considering.

She heard a noise behind her. _The salamander – coming to find me._

She hurried, her hands in front of her, until she found the wall. She walked along it until she found a few rocks close together. She ducked down under them, hoping that they would contain her glow enough that Kemalth wouldn't see her.

Vidia suddenly realized that she was still wearing her backpack. She pulled it off and grabbed a leaf blanket. After waiting in breathless silence to make sure the salamander wouldn't hear her moving, she curled up and went to sleep, exhausted.

**Stand Your Ground – 14****th****day**

Vidia stumbled back into the cavern. As far as she could tell it was morning, but even if she had sight she would have been unable to be sure. She faltered across the cavern floor and from the change in air, knew she had gotten through the arch at the other side. She turned, startled, as she heard the salamander move into the tunnel.

"Good morning, Vidia."

"Where are my friends? What have you done with them?" Vidia stared him as close to the eyes as she could guess.

"You heard my story, earlier, darling." Kemalth said, calmly. "I ate them, of course."

The fairies and Scruffy stuck inside of the barrel perked up, listening to the conversation.

"I don't believe you." Vidia announced, grimly.

"That's not my problem."

Vidia adjusted her backpack straps on her shoulders, and tried to find better footing. "You said that you don't have any Firebird tears left."

"I was lying. I do have some tears." Kemalth admitted. "What is it to you? I'm not giving you any."

"I don't need any – you see, I have some."

"Why haven't you used them?"

"They only work on fairy _injuries_ – not poison." Vidia lied to his face, hoping he didn't know that.

"I see, well then . . ."

"You'll run out one day." Vidia reminded him. "My Firebird tears would make a good addition to your collection. Think about when you run out and a rock falls on your head. You'll have nothing, and you'll just have to wait until your injury heals."

"I see your point." Kemalth said, thoughtfully. "Yes, I want your Firebird tears. What do you want for them?"

"The cure for the poison."

"What if I just kill you and take the tears?"

"You won't." Vidia pulled out a vial and took the cork out. "I'll pour them out right here."

"No – be careful!" the salamander pleaded, as a few drops almost spilled over the edge.

"You wouldn't have to worry me spilling them if you hadn't poisoned me. But all right, I'll smash them instead." Vidia recorked the vial and held it ready to smash. "You try to crush me, and you'll crush them."

"I understand." the salamander turned and left.

Vidia stayed, blindly holding the vial ready to smash. She listened carefully.

**Stand Your Ground – In the Barrel**

"What does she have?" Tinkerbell asked, curiously.

"She's got the vial that the last tears were in." Scruffy replied. "She filled it, but it isn't Firebird tears."

"Is it just me or is it very stuffy in here?" Rosetta asked. "I'm havin' trouble just breathin'."

Tinkerbell looked up, worried, and examined the barrel. "It's so well sealed that we're going to run out of air. There isn't much air coming through the cracks. She flew to Rosetta and showed her one crack that wasn't completely sealed. "You'll get a tiny bit of air here, but if we don't figure out how to get out we'll die in here without the salamander's help."


	9. A Deal with the Salamander

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 9**

**A Deal with the Salamander**

Vidia waitied patiently for several minutes. Finally she heard Kemalth's footsteps coming toward her.

"I'm setting the cure down over here. Just drink it. Drink it all." Kemalth said, sweetly.  
>"Get back!" Vidia warned.<p>

She heard Kemalth reluctantly stumbling back.

"I will smash this if I hear a sound from you while I'm getting the cure." Vidia warned.

"I understand." he assured her.

Vidia stumbled in the direction that he had spoken from, trying to walk and hold the vial ready to smash simultaneously.

"If you go a step further you will trip on it." the Salamander warned.

Vidia stopped and knelt, feeling around for it. There was a small container, and without trying to recognize it, Vidia just gulped down the liquid.

"Now give me the tears!" Kemalth suddenly growled.

"NO!" Vidia stepped back.

"That was our agreement!"

"No, my agreement was to give it to you when you give me the cure. I don't know that this is the cure. I'll give it to you as soon as I am cured." Vidia promised. "Give me a couple of minutes – or - how long does it take to work?"

"Just a few minutes."

"Fine. Then wait until I get my sight back."

"All right." Vidia could hear the serpent lying down to wait. She sat down with her back against a rock.

Suddenly she blinked, and tried not to focus on the salamander. He opened an eye. "Can you see?"

"No, not a thing." She lied blatantly. "There's only black."

He shut his eye again, and she glanced around.

_Not sure about salamanders, but us fast-flyer fairies have __**very**__good sight, and that looks like a good trap for fairies in the corner._

Suddenly, she realized that they might have escaped and hidden. It all made sense. She could see a rock stoppering the hole in the barrel._That's it!_

She blinked several times and rubbed her eyes gently. "I can see!" she exclaimed.

"Give me the vial now – that was our deal."

"Right, I'm setting it down over here." Vidia put it down. "Now let me walk away a bit before you pick it up."

"All right."

Vidia walked along the tunnel toward the barrel, but toward the wall, so the salamander wouldn't think she was going toward him.

As soon as he was close enough to the vial that he couldn't see her in his peripheral vision, she started sprinting for the barrel.

Inside the barrel, the fairies and Scruffy had each found a crack allowing the tiniest bit of air to enter, but it wasn't enough. Scruffy started gasping for air.

Vidia reached back into her backpack and pulled out something.

Kemalth opened the vial gently and poured a tiny drop out onto his claw, then tasted it. His expression became enraged as he realized that it wasn't a Firebird tear.

He turned with lightning speed and batted Vidia with a paw, making her yell and fly across the ground, unintentionally putting her closer to her goal, but not close enough.

He delicately placed a claw at her neck, keeping her from struggling.

"AH!" she shrieked.

"Any last words before I dice you into chunks?" he asked, smoothly, as if he was enjoying himself.

"Vidia, no!" Scruffy screamed.

"Huh?" the salamander lifted his paw only slightly, but Vidia pushed it to one side and threw their last bag of pixie dust at the rock stoppering the barrel.

"Quick, push out the rock! It's our only chance!" Tinkerbell called.

The other fairies and Scruffy pushed it out.

One at a time, they zipped through – and Scruffy stuck. Vidia ran to him to help him get out.

The Salamander saw all the fairies flying around the cavern, glowing, but he wanted Vidia. He saw one standing, with long black hair, near the barrel.

_Now I have her!_ He reached out with deadly sharpened claws.

"Sil! Look out!" Iridessa jumped in front of his prey. She suddenly made a very bright light. The salamander shut his eyes, surprised, but then opened them again and realized that Silvermist wasn't Vidia.

He saw Rosetta, wearing colors sort of similar to Vidia's, but wasn't sure it was her due to being blinded. He brought a foot high into the air to crush her.

Tinkerbell saw it. "Dessa, shine a light off that rock!" she shouted, pointing to a shiny, flat rock on the ceiling. The light reflected off the rock and into Kemalth's eyes.

"Ah!" he shielded his eyes with a foot, and swept across the floor with his tail, trying to take down Iridessa.

He blinked several times to clear his vision, then turned around. There were no fairies in sight.  
>"Are you okay, Vidia?" Tinkerbell asked.<p>

"I feel like brand new – without wings, of course." Vidia whispered back. "Stay down!" they both ducked as the salamander's eyes swept over their hiding spot.

Tinkerbell looked up again. "We've gotten into more trouble than I ever imagined we would."

"I got all of you into trouble. If I was one of you I'd probably apologize."

Tinkerbell grinned. "And what would _you_ say?"

"I'd say -"

"Scruffy, run!" Fawn shrieked.

Kemalth had spotted him.

Fawn grabbed a rock and threw it at the monster. "Here – I'm a fairy! Come get me!"

The salamander turned away from Scruffy and went for Fawn.

Fawn turned to leap into the air and dodge him, but suddenly found that her pixie dust had worn off. She found herself facedown on the ground.

She rolled onto her side. "Ah!" she screamed as she saw his claws descending. She jumped to her feet and ran, flittering her wings to help her along.

Silvermist, seeing her plight, pulled water from the ground.

"Sil!" Tinkerbell shouted, stepping from her shared hiding place with Vidia. "Salamanders are lizards! They like water!"

She ducked into another hiding place as the salamander glanced her way. She moved away from Vidia, not wanting to give away the spot.

Silvermist paused, thinking, then directed the water at the roof above the Salamander's head, having it spray as hard as it could. There was a crack, and the salamander looked up just in time to see a stone fall just in front of him, slicing through the air between him and Fawn.

The salamander turned, abandoning Fawn, and Iridessa's bright yellow dress caught his eyes. He picked up the stone that Silvermist had brought down, and threw it at her.

She froze, staring at it wide-eyed.

"Get out of the way!" Scruffy shouted, terrified.


	10. Struggle to Survive

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 10**

**Struggle to Survive**

Scruffy knocked Iridessa down next to another rock. They both ducked as the rock came down against the rock and was suspended just above them.

"Come on!" Scruffy whispered. They both crawled away from the rock, keeping low to the ground so that Kemalth wouldn't see them.

The salamander picked up another large rock and threw it at the first just for good measure. It cracked the first, and crashed to the ground right where Iridessa and Scruffy had sheltered.

Satisfied that the pesky light fairy was a pancake, Kemalth turned and scanned the cave for Vidia. She was standing alone just next to a crack in the wall that had sheltered her from his eyes before.

Vidia was looking over to where she had seen Scruffy jump underneath a falling boulder. She waited, breathless, for him to reappear, and when she saw him and Iridessa crawling away, she breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced up at the Salamander and froze – he was staring right at her. She turned and started to run, but he was too close.  
>"Vidia!" Scruffy shouted, horrified, drawing the other fairies' attention to her.<p>

Tinkerbell sprang into the air, but landed again – her pixie dust had run out.

"Vidia, run!" Rosetta called, running toward her, using her wings to speed her up, but none of the fairies were close enough – they couldn't reach her in time.

"Rosetta! Grow a cactus or something!" Tinkerbell shouted.

"I don't have enough pixie dust!" Rosetta called back. "And there isn't any dirt to grow it out of!"

"Someone try something!" Iridessa yelled.

The salamander reached out with a paw and batted Vidia off her feet, knocking her to the ground. She rolled to a stop, on her back.

"Hang on, Sugah!" Rosetta shouted. She concentrated, and suddenly a large, brown stick burst out of the rock, obeying Rosetta's hands. It was dry and dead-looking, but Rosetta snatched it up and threw it to Vidia. It landed suspended in the air over Vidia, with each end on a rock.

Vidia had no time to grab it, Kemalth's foot was already descending. She covered her head with her arms, cringing away from her doom.

But it never came. The salamander's foot crashed down on the stick, which held. Vidia looked up, astonished.

The salamander frowned down at her, trying to figure out what had stopped him. He lifted his foot, and Vidia snatched up the stick. She leaped up onto a boulder and swung it at his motionless foot, hoping to do some damage.

SNAP!

The stick broke into several pieces, leaving Vidia weaponless.

"Sorry, Vidia!" Rosetta called. "I didn't have much to work with."

Tinkerbell was still running toward the Salamander and Vidia, but the Salamander hit her with his tail, and she was knocked onto the ground.

"OW!" she pulled her arm off a sharp rock – which was actually a diamond. "Hey!" she said, surprised. "Perfect!"

She pulled it off the ground. "Dessa! Shine a light through this!" she called.

Suddenly rays of light were shining all over the room. Tinkerbell set the stone down.

"Keep shining at it, Dessa!" Silvermist told her, grabbing her arm and leading her out of the cavern so that she could keep shining the light on the diamond. The light wasn't bright, but it was moving, and shining all over the place, keeping Kemalth distracted.

Iridessa put out the light, and all of them scampered quickly into the other cavern.  
>"Keep moving." Tinkerbell ordered. "We have to get outside the cave." Everyone kept going.<p>

"Are you okay, Scruffy?" Vidia asked. "You almost got crushed!"

"Same to you." Scruffy pointed out. "I'm fine."

"What are we going to do?" Silvermist asked.

"We have to get out of here." Vidia said. "We haven't got any pixie dust, but Tink can build a boat, and we can sail back to Neverland, and -"

"Hold your horses!" Scruffy interrupted.  
>Vidia paused. "I don't know what that means."<p>

"It means 'wait a second'." Scruffy explained. "We haven't found a Firebird tear yet! He said that he had them – we can't go back without having accomplished our purpose!"

"Our purpose changed when Vidia was poisoned." Fawn pointed out. "The purpose was to save her life."

"And that's done. I'm not going to die." Vidia agreed.

"But we came all this way . . ." Scruffy protested. "Your wings meant so much to you . . ."

"Not as much as each of you mean to me." Vidia said, seriously.

"Thanks, Vidia." Tinkerbell said, touched.

"What did she say? I didn't hear." Rosetta spoke up.

They all looked at Vidia expectantly.

"I am not repeating that." she said, firmly. "No one is going to die for my wings, so let's all concentrate on getting off of this horrid island."

"All right." Scruffy conceded, reluctantly.

Vidia tossed her head to get a strand of hair from her face, and suddenly stumbled and tripped. The others went forward just a few steps before noticing and turning back.

"I'm fine." Vidia pushed herself to her hands and knees, and as she climbed to her feet, she heard a swishing sound -

"AH!" she heard all the other fairies screaming. She looked up and they were gone. She turned, looking all around.

"Tink? Scruffy!" she called.

"We're up here!" Rosetta called. "Run!"

Vidia looked up. The Salamander was towering over her, examining the fairies that he had caught in a net which appeared to be made of feathers – Firebird feathers.

Kemalth was slowly spinning the bag so he could see all the fairies inside.

"Vidia, run!" Iridessa insisted. "He's looking for you."

Vidia ran to a large rock and climbed up on it. "Hey! I'm down here!" she waved her arms and tried to increase her glow to attract his attention. She succeeded.

"Vidia. There you are. How did you escape my net?"

"Fast-flying fairy." Vidia lied, knowing it was dumb luck. "Let them go. It's me you want, isn't it?"

"All fairies are good snacks." Kemalth replied. "I'll just feel more satisfaction when I eat you."

He put the feather bag on the ground and secured the end with an enormous rock that there was no way the fairies could move.

Vidia took a step back as the salamander reached down toward her. She glanced around and saw a sharp rock edge sticking out of the wall.

_He's way too big for me to injure – but if I can just trick him into injuring himself . . . _

Vidia forced herself to ignore the scaly hand reaching for her. She scanned the area. The floor of the cave was littered with rocks – some of them big, some small. She spotted another large one near her. She could faintly hear her friends shouting at her to run. She took a few running steps and then jumped to the other boulder. She heard a whoosh behind her as the salamander tried to grab her just as she jumped. She turned, looking behind her, and the salamander was walking toward her. She turned her back on Kemalth and jumped to another boulder, getting closer to the rock in the wall.

Scruffy watched anxiously as Vidia ignored the salamander. Kemalth took another step and Scruffy uneasily noticed a rock split beneath his foot.

"Vidia – watch out!" he shouted as Kemalth lunged for her. His scaly arm blocked Scruffy's view mostly, but he heard Vidia scream in pain and fall from the boulders onto the ground.  
>"Vidia!" Silvermist shrieked. "Vidia!"<p> 


	11. A Useless Fairy

**Disclaimer in Chapter One**

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 11**

**A Useless Fairy**

Vidia crouched next to a rock, tenderly feeling the back of her head. She wished she'd been able to keep back the scream – it was probably torture for her kindhearted friends.

She glanced up at the salamander, who was examining the strands of black hair that he'd snagged on his claw. Vidia's hairtie was lying in pieces far away. She pushed her hair out of her face and crawled to another boulder so the Salamander wouldn't see her.

He shook the hair off his foot and reached toward where he'd last seen Vidia. He rolled a boulder out of the way so he could look around better, and Vidia pulled herself tighter against the rock.

"Vidia!" Scruffy called. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry, Scruffy." Tinkerbell assured him. "I'm pretty sure the salamander only got her hair."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Scruffy sighed in relief.

"These are Firebird feathers!" Fawn exclaimed, examining their cage. "The monster! He plucked the Firebird's feathers!"

"You're giving me horrid ideas about what he'll do to us." Rosetta spoke up after a moment.

Scruffy frowned, puzzled. "But you haven't got feathers -"

Iridess stepped in front of him, slowly opening and shutting her wings.

"I get it." Scruffy nodded. "I'll get us out of here." he started chewing on the smaller end of one of the feathers' rachis.

The salamander circled the stones where Vidia had vanished. He now stood father from the sharp rock that she'd seen earlier. She leaped to her feet and sprinted toward the rock, keeping her head down.

The salamander spotted her in less than a second, but he was several steps away. He took those steps quickly and reached out for her, but she jumped up onto a boulder as he smashed his hand down on where she had been.

She jumped from boulder to boulder until he got close again. She then jumped down as he started getting angry and smashed a nearby boulder. She flinched as rubble flew everywhere.

"Vidia!" she could hear Silvermist and Iridessa most clearly. "Get out! Run!"

She reached the sharp rock and jumped up onto the top. It was slippery, and she had to hold onto depressions in the wall to keep from falling. The salamander reached for her. She suddenly lay down flat against the rock and hoped that the salamander would follow her plan. He used the tips of his claws to scrape the rock, trying to get her to fall off. She snatched up a rock and brought it down, hard, on his claw, breaking it off.

He roared in pain and rage, and pulled back his hand, intending to slam it into her, crushing her into the wall, but as he swung, Vidia jumped off, letting him crash his hand into the sharp edge of the rock.

The salamander let out a howl so loud that all the fairies covered their ears. A few rocks tumbled down from the ceiling. Vidia held her hands over her ears as she stumbled across the floor to where her friends were being held.

She tugged on the rock, then circled around and pushed on it as hard as she could.

The howl stopped.

"How do I get you out?" Vidia demanded, pulling at one of the many knots holding the feather bag together.

"Run, Vidia! You can't get us out!" Rosetta urged her. "Go get help!"

"There has to be something." Vidia insisted. "Tinkerbell – a lever! What do I do?"

"There isn't anything here that would work that you could lift." Tinkerbell shook her head. "Grab the pixie dust if you can and make a boat to sail back to pixie hollow. Get Queen Clarion to send help."

Vidia shook her head and pushed at the boulder again. It didn't budge.

"There isn't anything you can do!" Fawn joined in. "Vidia – he's coming over."

"No!" Vidia didn't stop pushing at the boulder in vain.

"Please, Vidia!" Iridessa reached through the net and touched her shoulder. Vidia shook her off and redoubled her efforts.

"Vidia!" Scruffy cried. "Look out!"

Vidia dived to one side and rolled to safety as the salamander tried to crush her.

"Please, Vidia! Run!" Tinkerbell begged.

Vidia looked at her friends for a moment. Her eyes lingered on Scruffy.

"I'm not leaving you there!" she called, promising. "I'll be back."

"Only when you've got help, honey." Rosetta said, warningly. "Or you'll be eaten right after us."

The salamander spotted Vidia and swung at her, but Vidia jumped down and hid behind another boulder.

Tinkerbell turned to her friends. "Dessa, can you make a light?"

"Not a bright one."

"Good enough. Sil, can you pull some water from the ground?"

"Not a lot."

"That's good enough. Dessa, shine your light through Sil's water and make it reflect everywhere. Light seems to disorient Kemalth a bit. We'll distract him so that Vidia can get away." Tinkerbell organized them. "Scruffy, Fawn, Rosetta – grab rocks and toss them across the floor so that they'll make noise – don't toss them where Vidia will run, though. Try to make him turn _away _from her."

"Right." Fawn saluted, dutifully, and started reaching through the feather net to grasp small stones.

"Can we throw them _at _Kemalth?" Rosetta asked, eagerly.

"That's your choice." Tinkerbell grinned.

"My choice is made. If he's going to eat me he's going to pay for it first._"_ Rosetta fluffed her hair and grabbed a rock.  
>"Dessa, Sil, go!" Tinkerbell ordered.<p>

Vidia stumbled as lights shone everywhere. She could hear the other fairies yelling loudly and rocks landing all around. She got up and sprinted toward the doorway. The salamander was batting away rocks that were pelting toward him, but was still scanning the cavern for where she was hiding. Vidia smiled, grimly. _That must have been Tink's plan._

She turned back and saw the others working determinedly. _They don't think I can be any help in a life threatening situation. _She thought, discouraged. _And why would I think otherwise?_

She continued down the tunnel.

**It's the occasion of this story first being favorited. I feel that posting another chapter is the correct response. Thank you so much, _Juggernaut141_! **

**I'd like to offer a very sincere 'thank you!' to all those kind enough to review.**

**I'd also like to remind non-reviewers that I'll put more effort into this story if I get reviews.**

**I'm now working on seven other stories, which may mean this one will come along more sluggishly. I hope you enjoy the story.**


	12. Deciphering the Firebird's Riddles

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 12**

**Deciphering the Firebird's Riddles**

Vidia walked until she got to the boiling river. After she discovered that the river encircled the cave entrance like a moat she started to figure out how to build a bridge without wood.

It very soon became dark, and she camped. She listened intently, not wanting to ear sounds of the salamander eating her friends, but unable to stop listening. The only sounds she heard were of the animals and insects chirping and buzzing that it was evening, and that they were all on their way to their nests.

Vidia pulled her leaf blanked from her backpack and laid it out on the ground. She lay down but couldn't close her eyes. Everything that had happened was replaying itself in her mind. She heard a slight sound and rolled to her feet, grabbing a stick off the ground and holding it at the ready.

She saw bright eyes in the dark. She imagined bats, wolves, foxes or weasels. She took a quick look all around, then looked back at where she'd seen the eyes, but they had left. Completely unnerved, Vidia quickly built a fire to scare away animals.

She lay down again, now and again casting quick glances around in the dark. She didn't see any more eyes, and started to wonder if they'd been her imagination.

She pulled the book out and opened it up to the description of the island.

It was described as being full of jungles, with many rivers. The whole island was supposed to be cool and wet – a perfect exile for a creature that loves fire. It was supposed to be extremely hard to light a fire on the island, besides for the one dormant volcano.

"So how did the island change?" Vidia spoke aloud. "Unless the entire tome is wrong, this island has completely changed in the last few centuries. I wonder if the Firebird had anything to do with it." She rolled onto her stomach, propping her chin up on her fists, her elbows resting on the warm, moist ground.

"The myth of the monster is a lie." she recalled. "Why would he tell someone that? The _myth_ of the monster. Not the 'legend', but the 'myth'. Something that everyone knows, but isn't true. No one knows what kind of monster it is . . . but we know it ate fairies. Maybe it didn't actually – no Kemalth admitted it."

Vidia tossed a stick in the fire and took a cautious look into the darkness.

"But maybe they knew it was a Salamander back then. So the characteristics are fireproof and waterproof. Maybe one of those is the lie? But when I met Scruffy he thought it _breathed_ fire. Perhaps hundreds of years ago everyone thought that, and the Firebird figured out that it was a myth. That doesn't help at all."

In the middle of muttering about the clues the Firebird had left, Vidia finally dropped off to sleep.

**Stand Your Ground – 15****th**** day**

The sky was turning gray when Vidia jerked awake. Her fire was starting to go out, and it was still dark enough that ferocious creatures might still be hunting. Vidia looked around. There was no more tinder in the light, and she had learned her lesson in caution in the last fourteen days.

Vidia paused. It struck her suddenly that it would only be hours until she would never fly alone again. She swallowed and held back tears.

Going back to the present, she dumped out the contents of her backpack to see if she had anything flammable.

"From a trickle to a roar." she muttered, worrying about the salamander and his captives. "Roar. Did he mean that sentence in the usual way? Blue dust to yellow pixie dust?" She pulled a leaf bag from the pile of stuff and examined it to see if there was a little dust left inside, but there were only the very tiniest little bits clinging to the fabric. "Trickle to the roar of a lion? What else roars?" she wondered, frowned. She sighed. "No pixie dust. I'll never find out." she tossed the bag into the flames and watched it catch fire.

The fire exploded upward more than twice her height.

"AH!" she screamed and jumped backwards. The fire spread outwards, and the edge of the 'Legend of the Monster' caught on fire. Vidia snatched the corner of the book and scrambled away from the majestic flame. She quickly used wet dirt to douse the flame on the book, but it wouldn't have mattered if it _had_ burned.

"I understand." Vidia said, aloud. "I understand." she stood up. The heat from the fire was intense, but she didn't really notice. She smiled.

"I don't know what went wrong last time, Kemalth, that time when the Firebird came for justice, and to protect the fairies of Neverland." she shouted to the air, enraged, knowing that he wasn't listening. "But this time _nothing will go wrong_. I know the myth of the monster – and you're going to pay for the lives you've ended."

**Thank you for my first review for this story!**

**To all those who enjoy this story enough that they'd like another, the first chapter of 'The Little Fairy', another Vidia story, is already up.**


	13. A Warning and a Choice

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 13**

**A Warning and a Choice**

Kemalth was getting ready for Vidia's return. He knew she would come back. She had backbone, and wings or no wings, he knew she wouldn't leave them.

He pulled Iridessa from the feather bag – she had caused enough trouble with her irksome light. He tied her hands together and pinned her to the ceiling of the tunnel.  
>He left the others in the bag and pinned that to the ceiling, also, close enough that they could speak to Iridessa.<p>

He brought his large head close to them. "Listen carefully – I'll only tell you once. When Vidia comes -"

"She won't come." Fawn faked a laugh, trying to convince him.

"When she comes if you remain quiet and don't attract attention, I will let Vidia go. I will rein in my appetite and allow her to live."

"Really?" Tinkerbell asked, suspiciously. "Why should we believe you?"

"You don't need to. But know that if you make a single sound, or if you attract her attention by moving or throwing objects, I will kill her immediately, and it won't be pretty. That's all."

Kemalth walked gracefully to the other end of the cavern and sat down in the doorway opposite where Vidia would come in.

"Dessa, can you use a light to cut through the feathers in the bag?" Tink said, quietly, trying not to let the salamander hear what she said.

"No, my hands are tied." Iridessa replied. "I can't move them, and I haven't got any pixie dust to make a light with."

"I can chew through them in just a few moments." Scruffy volunteered, and bared his teeth.

"No!" Fawn covered his mouth with her hands. "We haven't got pixie dust. Scruffy, at least, would certainly die, but the rest of us haven't got a chance, either."

"Well, you could've just said that we'd all die." Rosetta fanned herself a little.

"She did." Silvermist pointed out.

"Do you hear something?" Tinkerbell stuck her head out of one of the holes in the net to extend her ear toward the passageway. "I hear something."

"I don't." Iridessa could't move her head at all.

"Be quiet, if it's Vidia, he'll kill her immediately, remember?" Fawn begged. "We can't let her die!" Scruffy whispered, "but he'll eat her either way."

"And he said it wouldn't be pretty." Rosetta reminded.

"Rosetta!" Silvemist frowned at her.

"SHH!" Tinkerbell pulled her head back in. "Vidia's life may depend on us all being perfectly silent."

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia stepped slowly toward the doorway that led into the cavern. She stopped just beside the door. She adjusted her backpack straps on her shoulders, then walked into sight. In the middle of the doorway she turned. She looked around. The salamander was sitting opposite her, in the other doorway.

The fairies and Scruffy were nowhere in sight.

"Are they in the other cavern?" Vidia asked, not seeming too worried.

"No." Kemalth replied.

"Did you eat them?"

"Immediately after I captured them."

"No, you didn't. You're lying."

"Why do you say that?"

"If you'd eaten them right away there would be blood – and Dessa's backpack. And the feather bag, because I don't think you'd eat that."

Silvermist cheered silently.

"I cleaned up while I was waiting for dessert." Kemalth commented.

Vidia took a deep breath.

"I figured it out." she announced. "I know what the Firebird discovered."

Tinkerbell and Fawn exchanged a worried glance.

"And you've come to brag about your intelligence?" Kemalth asked, sardonically.

"No." Vidia lifted her chin. "I've come to give you a warning – and a choice. If you have or do hurt my friends . . . run."

"Me? Run from _you_?"  
>Vidia nodded. "And run as fast as you can, because I will follow and I will kill you." She didn't raise her voice. She was speaking a fact.<p>

The salamander narrowed his eyes.

"If you let them go . . . I can set you free."

Everything was silent.

The fairies on the ceiling frowned, uncertain.

Kemalth laughed. "You don't know how to kill me. For hundreds of years fairies have tried to figure that out. They've come here and died. You shall, too."

"No, I really did figure it out." Vidia insisted. "You see, before the Firebird came you didn't have to wait for fairies to come to you. You came to Neverland and took them."

The salamander shifted his feet impatiently.

"The Firebird pretended to leave one day, but went back and stole blue pixie dust."

"And why did he do that?" Kemalth asked, bored.

"Because he needed it to imprison you on the island." Vidia said, clearly. "'From a trickle of blue pixie dust to the roar of flame'. Pixie dust burns! This island was cool and wet, with _one dormant volcano_. The Firebird put the pixie dust into the volcano. Everything got hot. The ground, the rivers, the volcano. The Firebird did that because he found out that you aren't fireproof. You hate fire. You turn away from Dessa's light even when it's really dim. That's the 'Myth of the Salamander'. It's one of the first things that I learned about you. Scruffy and Fawn both agreed that your kind is fireproof. That's why you can't leave. The river goes around the cave entrance like a moat. You can't cross the steam, you'd burn."

Vidia paused. "The myth of the Salamander is what puts you apart from big lizards and alligators. You're just an overgrown lizard, because the Myth of the Salamander -" she shook her head. "It's a lie."

**Just to make you wonder, I want to let you know that sometimes the goal of a story changes, and the end isn't exactly the way we want it – don't assume and leave the story, though, because I'm pretty sure you'll like it. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/reviews.**


	14. Trickle to a Roar

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 14**

**Trickle to a Roar**

Kemalth stared at her, calmly.

Vidia fell silent as she waited for him to respond. He clapped his hands together in applause.

"Ingenious. Very clever, Vidia. But you should have thought your plan through. Do you really think that words can stop a monster like me? You haven't got anything to start a fire with. You haven't even got pixie dust."

"But _you_ do." Vidia pointed out.

"That doesn't help you."

"How well have you done your research on fairies?" Vidia asked. "I'm a fast flying fairy."

"Without wings." Kemalth laughed. "I'm sure you're very dangerous."

"Think! What do fast flying fairies do?" Vidia encouraged him, grinning. "I'm not all that dangerous, but I'm sure not harmless!" She twirled a finger in midair.

The bags of pixie dust whirled in from the other room inside Vidia's wind and dumped the pixie dust in a circle around the salamander.

Vidia grabbed a handful of dust and threw it up toward the ceiling, right onto the other fairies. "Dessa, shine a light!"

"I can't move my hands!" Iridessa cried. "I can't control where it goes!"  
>"Just do what you can." Tinkerbell assured her. "Don't worry. One beam, as bright as you can make it."<p>

Iridessa concentrated and made a very bright beam of light to the floor, but it wasn't in the right place. It was inside the circle of pixie dust, not touching any of the dust.

"Is everyone floating?" Tinkerbell checked. "Scruffy, chew through the net!"

Scruffy took a few nibbles, then scrambled out and hopped over to Iridessa, meaning to chew through the feathers pinioning her to the rocks.

The salamander noticed Scruffy's actions and reached up with one hand and grabbed him.

"Scruffy!" Vidia shrieked. "No!"

Scruffy struggled, but Kemalth had him in a tight grip. Kemalth put him in between two boulders and put other rocks around him, trapping him in a stone cage.

Silvermist reached Iridessa and tugged at the feathers, with no effect. Tinkerbell joined her as Rosetta and Fawn flew to Scruffy's rescue, but the rocks were too large.

Rosetta noticed the pixie dust lying on the floor, and went to get some to use on the rocks, but the salamander slammed his tail into her, sending her into the wall.

With Rosetta out of action and all the others busy, the salamander turned to Vidia, who took a few steps back.

Kemalth reached forward with his front foot light lightning, trying to crush her, but she rolled out of the way, letting him crush a boulder into several pieces.

Vidia ran toward the beam of light, without a clear plan in her head. She saw Fawn and a groggy Rosetta still trying to free Scruffy. She picked up a handful of pixie dust and threw it onto the rock. "Get Iridessa free!" she shouted. Fawn and Rosetta helped Scruffy out, and they started toward Iridessa.

Vidia started to turn back to the salamander, but he hit her with his foot, and she sprawled across the floor. She shook her head of ringing and pushed herself to her knees. She suddenly saw the ray of light shining on the floor and remembered -

She pulled off her backpack and dumped everything out. She snatched up the silver locket ***** and tossed it across the floor to the end of the light.

The light reflected off the locket and onto the pixie dust. Suddenly flames as tall as the salamander sprang up, and the fire spread all around the circle of pixie dust. All around Kemalth. All around Vidia.

Iridessa pulled away from her bonds just moments after the fire sprang up and filled the top of the cavern with smoke. The fairies quickly flew down and looked around for Vidia.

"Vidia!" Scruffy saw her inside the circle of fire.

Vidia dodged again as the salamander tried to crush her. She dodged another swing, then something caught her eye. The stick that Rosetta had grown for her – or half of it – was lying nearby. She scrambled to her feet and ran to it. She ducked another blow, then grabbed the stick. She set it so that one half was on a flat rock, and the other hung off. She stood in the middle. The salamander brought his hand down to crush her, but she stepped onto the stick next to the boulder and he moved his hand so he wouldn't crush his hand on the sharp rock. Unintentionally, he hit the stick.

"AH!" Vidia yelled in fear as she was catapulted into the air, soaring just over the flame, and then starting to fall downwards. She impacted Rosetta, who had been hovering in the air, and they both fell, but Rosetta managed to slow them down and they both landed gently on Scruffy, who let them use him as a pillow.

"Are you okay?" Vidia, Rosetta and Scruffy all spoke at the same time, each speaking to another person. "I'm fine." they spoke together again,

Tinkerbell, Silvermist, Fawn and Iridessa landed next to them.

"Are you guys okay?" Silvermist asked, anxiously.

"Yeah, we're fine." Vidia replied, then she turned and looked at the salamander, who was vainly trying to douse the flames by blowing on them.

The flames were drawing inwards. The fire was burning taller, almost to the ceiling. There was no room to jump.

Vidia climbed onto Scruffy's back. "Take me up to talk to him." She directed.

He obeyed, and the other fairies flew up after them.

"Put out the fire." Kemalth ordered "When it goes out I'll come after you, steam or not, and eat every last one of you."

"It's my choice whether to let you live or not." everyone turned in surprise.

Silvermist flew forward. "I'm the only one that can put out the fire. I'm the water fairy."

"Then put it out!" the salamander demanded. "Now!"

"I don't think so." Silvermist put her hands on her hips. "You tried to kill us all – you've imprisoned me twice. You specifically went after Vidia, and she doesn't even have wings. I think I might let you burn to death."

"Let him go, Sil." Tinkerbell told her. "He isn't worth it."

"But Vidia is." Silvermist narrowed her eyes. "You have one chance at life. Tell us where the Firebird tears are."

"I don't have any."

"Then you die." Silvermist turned away.

**Stand Your Ground**

*** See Stand Your Ground: Firebird Tears chapter 8 to see where she finds the locket.**


	15. Out of Time

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 15**

**Out of Time**

"NO! I do." Kemalth admitted. "Put out the fire and I'll get them." He pulled his tail away from the fire.

"No." Silvermist shook her head. "You'll tell Fawn and Dessa where they are. They'll get them."

"Go into the tunnel through the door behind me. Go to the left. There's another cavern on the right, just before the tunnel dead-ends. It's sitting in the corner in there."

"Check it out." Tinkerbell requested.

Fawn and Iridessa left to find it.

"I didn't know Sil had that kind of backbone." Vidia whispered in Scruffy's ear. He nodded.

They waited for a moment, then they heard Fawn whoop in joy.

"We've got it!" she shouted, coming into the cavern with Iridessa close behind.

Fawn handed it to Vidia.

"Hang on a minute." Tinkerbell stopped them. She turned to Kemalth. "You're going to drink one of those before Vidia does."

"All right." Tinkerbell flew the vial to him and let him drink one tear.

He did so willingly.

"It must be the Firebird tears." Tinkerbell pronounced. "His foot is healed."

Silvermist pulled water from the ground and put out the fire.

The salamander jumped from the circle of still hot pixie dust.

"Let's go." Scruffy turned to leave the cavern.

"Wait!" Kemalth called.

"What is it?" Vidia answered.

"You said that if I didn't hurt you friends you would set me free. I didn't hurt you or your friends. Honor your bargain."

Vidia gestured to Scruffy to go over to the monster.

He stopped in front of the salamander's face.

"You tried to hurt all of us too many times to count." Vidia pointed out. "And a brave Firebird died so that you would be imprisoned."

She paused. "But you're right. You didn't hurt my friends. I gave you a choice." she leaned forward. "You chose _wrong_. So get used to it. Home sweet home." Scruffy turned away and took Vidia back to the other fairies.

The salamander was still as he watched them leave.

The fairies turned into the tunnel and flew toward the light that seeped all the way down to where they were.

They flew for several minutes in silence, but all jumped when they heard the Salamander shouting behind them.

"I hope you're happy! You're still too late!"

"Ignore him." Vidia instructed.

"What does he mean? Too late?" Scruffy asked as they all emerged from the cave, flying into the sunlight.

"He means that it's almost noon." Iridessa realized, pointing at the sun high in the sky. "Vidia, quick, drink the tear!"

Vidia pulled out the vial and gulped down the tear.

She waited for her friends to say something. One way or another. The silence continued.

"Well?" she asked, unable to stand it.

"I'm so sorry, Vidia." Tinkerbell put a hand on her shoulder. "It's too late."

"Maybe it just takes some time . . ." Silvermist suggested. "Maybe they'll grow back in a few hours."

Vidia shook Tinkerbell's hand off. "Don't, Sil. I get it. It's fine."

"No, it isn't!" Scruffy exclaimed. "If the salamander had just cooperated when -"

"But he didn't. It's done." Vidia cut him off firmly. She swallowed. "I'm done. Let's go home."

**Stand Your Ground**

They traveled to the beach and decided to stop there for the night before flying back to Neverland. Vidia sat silently by the fire as all the fairies got ready to sleep.

Silvermist walked over to her. "If there's anything that you want . . ."  
>"Thanks, Sil. I'll let you know." Vidia essentially dismissed her.<p>

"So have you met any friendly creatures on the island?" Fawn asked, curiously.

"A beaver gave me a ride." Vidia recalled. "He was friendly."

"A beaver! I haven't met many beavers – I wonder if he'll stop by." Fawn exclaimed.

Everything was silent for a moment.

"It's very green here." Iridessa said, hesitantly.

"Oh, yes." Rosetta replied. "Beautiful."

Silence.

"I don't have wings. That's the end of it. But it doesn't mean you have to stop talking for fear of upsetting me." Vidia said, loudly.

Tinkerbell shook her head. "I was thinking about everything that's happened – you were _amazing_, Vidia. I would have been impressed with everything you've done even if you had wings and hadn't been poisoned. You don't have wings anymore, but you saved all of us several times over, and defended yourself just like normal – better, even. Because of your wings being gone, you've learned more skills that the rest of us will ever think of needing."

"She's right, Vidia." Silvermist spoke up. "You did more than any of the rest of us, and you haven't any wings."

"It just makes everything you do more dazzling." Rosetta pointed out.  
>"You aren't handicapped." Fawn told her, seriously.<p>

"You're not even a burden to us." Iridessa said. "It makes me feel safer right now to have you in camp."

"And just think – you'll be able to do so much more in the rain." Scruffy pointed out. "You won't have your wet wings slowing you down."

Vidia glared at him. "Not helping, Scruffy."

"Oh." Scruffy thought for a moment. "Since you can't fly anymore, I'll bet you're the fastest fairy on two legs."

"He's right. You probably are." Fawn agreed.

"Probably? No probably about it!" Rosetta smiled. "'course she is."

Vidia smirked. "Thanks, Ro."

"No problem, sugah." Rosetta waved it off. "I'm going to bed – or what passes as a bed."

"Come on, Ro!" Fawn jumped up. "It's like camping out!" She dove into her blanket and rolled over to turn it into a sleeping bag.

"It _is_ camping out." Silvermist pointed out.

"It's more fun when it's just _like_ camping out." Iridessa agreed.

Vidia put a stick next to her bed and sat down in it. She turned and saw Tinkerbell watching her.

"What is it?"

Tinkerbell shrugged. "Everything's going to be different, but you're so . . . I don't know . . . so independent, so -" she shook her head.

"I was independent before." Vidia pointed out.

"But I didn't expect you to keep being you." Tinkerbell admitted. "I thought you'd just have to rely on us."

"Me?" Vidia snorted. "No way."

Tinkerbell turned away, then back. "I know what it is." she announced. "It's that you've learned – to stand your ground."

Vidia looked at her.

Tinkerbell went to bed.

Vidia lay in bed and watched the treeline. She saw birds getting to their nests, squirrels scampering back into the jungle, foxes wishing that the fairies didn't have a fire.

Vidia turned her head and saw a white bird sitting on a rock further down the beach. It seemed to be watching her.

She sat up partially, leaning on her elbow, staring at the bird.

"What's wrong, Vidia?" Rosetta slurred, sleepily.

"Nothing, Ro. Go back to sleep."

Vidia watched the bird until she felt her eyes trying to close on their own.

She lay back down.

Still watching the bird, she was prepared to swear that it had winked at her.

**The story isn't finished yet – a chapter and an epilogue to go.**


	16. Fate of Doiteain

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of the Monster**

**and the Firebird that Never Returned**

**Chapter 16**

**Fate of Doiteain**

Vidia squeezed her eyes shut tightly – she was sleepy and sort of cold. She rolled onto her side and managed to land her face in an open bag of pixie dust. She sneezed loudly, then looked around, but no one else woke up. She turned over to try to go back to sleep. She managed to roll over onto a rock. She shifted again and her blanket let her toes out into the cold air. She shivered and pulled on her shoes to keep her feet warm.

_I'm never going to get back to sleep now._ Vidia got up quietly and left the camp. She didn't want to wake anyone else up. She walked along the quiet beach.

After walking for a few minutes, Vidia came across a large pile of rocks that extended out into the water. She walked out and sat down at the end.

She dangled her feet above the water and watched the sky turning gray.

"Better get back to the others. They'll worry." she said, aloud, and turned.

"Whoa!" Vidia yell, scrambling back away from the white bird. It apparently had been sitting next to her for a few moments. It didn't move as she rudely screeched and jerked away, just looked at her.

Vidia halted, and realized that it didn't mean to eat her.

It winked.

"Hello again. I thought it was my imagination that you winked at me yesterday."

The bird shook it's head.

"You can understand me?"

He nodded.

"I didn't mean to be rude: you surprised me, and I've had a lot of critters trying to kill me or eat me or feed me to their eaglets. I'm jumpy, I guess." Vidia admitted.

The bird just sat and looked at her.

"Any idea what happened to the Firebird that passed through here a while back?" Vidia asked. "I don't quite understand what he did – you see, if he dropped all the blue pixie dust into the volcano at once it would have exploded and destroyed the island. But it's stayed boiling for hundreds of years. I don't get it. For this to happen, he'd have to have stayed around and kept putting a little bit of dust in the volcano regularly. But you're probably not old enough to have met him."

Vidia stared at the waves going toward the horizon.

"That bird was my last hope for wings." Vidia confided in the white bird. "Or his tears, anyway. My wings got ripped off by a hawk sixteen days ago. I'm told that Firebird tear will only work within fifteen days of the injury. I wonder if that's all Firebird tears, or just old Firebird tears. When we get back to pixie hollow I could find other Firebird legends and go after another missing Firebird. But the others would come too, and they might get hurt. I wonder -" Vidia stopped short. A pink rose petal was floating in the wind and it landed on the rock next to her.

"Ro." she said. "I have to get back to the others. They'll be worried about me."

She turned away from the bird to push herself up, but suddenly she heard a strange sound. Like water – one drop – on a rose leaf.

Vidia looked up for storm clouds, but it was a clear, gray sky.

She turned back and looked up at the bird that had just stood up.

It was crying.

She looked down at the drop in the rose petal, and the bird let another tear drop from it's eye to the petal.

Vidia slowly climbed to her feet.

"You're the Firebird!" she whispered. "The salamander lied. You're alive."

The bird nodded. It dropped a third tear into the petal.

Vidia's mouth opened slightly, astonished. "You've stayed here so long – to keep us safe."

The Firebird nodded.

"You're incredibly old." Vidia said, "That's why your feathers are so white."

The Firebird flew into the air.

"I didn't mean to insult you! I meant in a really wise way." Vidia called after him, but he didn't look back. Vidia glanced down at the rose petal on the rocks. She didn't move for several minutes, thinking about how everything fit together.

Hearing something, she looked up and the Firebird was hovering over her.

He flapped his wings and suddenly pixie dust was dropping down all around her. The petal with the tears started floating upward. Vidia grabbed it before it got too high.

Vidia looked up at the bird. "You're going to stay here forever, aren't you? Why didn't you tell them the sacrifice you were making for them? Those fairies thought that you weren't powerful enough to defeat the monster. They thought you died. You've become the victim in stories. And you've been saving our lives over and over again without us even knowing it."

The bird gestured to the tears, and turned away.

Vidia straightened.

"Doiteain!" she called.

Doiteain turned back toward her.

"We will _never_ forget you again." Vidia said. "I'll see to it."

Doiteain regarded her for a moment, then settled back down on the rocks and bowed gracefully.

Vidia awkwardly bowed back. Doiteain looked at her for a moment, then flew away.

Vidia took a deep breath and took a sip of Firebird tear.

Something changed. She could feel it changing.

Vidia reached back over her shoulder with hand and touched the tip of her beautiful wing.

**Stand Your Ground**

Vidia soared toward the marsh. She held tightly a handful of sand. She hovered over the alligator and dumped the sand on him.

He looked up.

"Can't catch me now!" she shouted. "Can't catch _me_!" She flew down the beach next to the marsh. She waved at the surprised beaver – and he waved back.

Spinning recklessly through the air, Vidia suddenly found herself face to face with the dragonfly that she'd met before.

"Hiya!"

She darted past him and let him almost catch her before she darted away again. The dragonfly was disoriented when she suddenly disappeared.

Then he heard laughing, and she was high above him. Laughing.

He was about to give chase, but there was a swishing sound and she was gone.

Vidia landed gently on the rocks where she'd met Doiteain. She knelt down and picked up the white feather that was sitting there. She stuck it into her belt next to the purple ones.

**Stand Your Ground**

"Get up, lazybones!" Fawn said, cheerfully, patting Scruffy on her way by.

"Just a minute." Scruffy settled his chin more comfortably onto the ground.

He shut his eyes again.

His eyes flew open as round as as acorns when something landed, hard, on the sand in front of him.

He first noticed purple-shoed feet, and then he glanced up. It was Vidia, hands on hips, wings outspread – wait. Wings?

"Wings?" Scruffy whispered.

"What did you say, Scruffy?" Fawn asked, her back still turned to him.  
>"Tink, where's Vidia?" Rosetta asked, from across the clearing.<p>

"Scruffy?" Fawn turned around and stopped, staring. "Vidia?" she said, breathlessly. "I'm dreaming."

Everyone turned. No one made a sound.

Scruffy climbed slowly to his feet.

Vidia turned and looked at the sunrise. The sky was orange-red. She saw Doiteain was flying out over the ocean, toward the horizon. The sky reflected off his white feathers and made it look as if he was on fire.

She gestured toward the bird.

"They had it wrong in the book." Vidia said. "It's the Legend of Doiteain, the Firebird. And the Monster that will _never_ return."

**I'd like to thank all my reviewers once more time. Epilogue still to go.**


	17. Epilogue

Disclaimer in Chapter One

**Stand Your Ground**

**Part 3**

**Legend of Doiteain, the Firebird**

**and the Monster that will Never Return**

**Epilogue**

Vidia looked down at the other fairies. They were packing up to leave for Neverland. Vidia swooped down low in the jungle and waved at the creatures she'd seen before. She grabbed a large leaf and smacked the wolf in the face with it on her way by.

She looked down and saw a face on the ground as she whipped by. A familiar face. She scrambled to turn in the air and go back. It wasn't actually a face. It was a muddy puddle.

Vidia cocked her head as she examined her reflection.

She pulled her hair back away from her face and stared at her reflection.

Her mouth opened slightly in astonishment.

Something touched her and she jumped into the air with a yelp.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you." Rosetta apologized. "What were you looking at, sugah?"

Vidia shook her head. "Nothing." she paused. "I was reminded of a dream."

She glanced at the sky.

"Next stop, Pixie Hollow." she said, firmly.

And everything went according to plan.

**And so ends Stand Your Ground: Legend of Doiteain, and the Salamander that will Never Return.**

**If you have not already done so, check out my new story: The Little Fairy. That story and a few other ones that aren't posted yet will eventually shed some light on this epilogue.**


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